Ronald G. Drabman, 60, was arrested on numerous weapons charges on Sunday
A man has been arrested after police found an arsenal of weapons in his Queens home.
Ronald G. Drabman, 60, faces more than 100 counts of weapons charges after the New York Police Department raided his single-story Queens home at around 2am on Sunday.
Inside the home in the Oakland Gardens neighborhood, which he shares with his 94-year-old mother, police found 71 guns, all of which he allegedly possessed illegally.
The cache included 45 long guns, 23 hand guns, two .177 caliber pellet guns, and one zip gun, or homemade firearm.
Police believe Drabman is merely a collector, but are investigating whether he was planning any violence.
Cops with the 81st Precinct in Brooklyn first got the tip that led to the seizure in Queens
Cops with the NYPD Intelligence Bureau pose with the sized weapons, including a Tommy Gun displayed on the front-left corner of the table
Among the handguns seized were a dizzying array of semi-auto pistols, revolvers, derringers, and even a homemade zip gun constructed from a length of pipe (front right corner)
Police raided Drabman’s home (pictured) which he shares with his 94-year-old mother
Drabman had a prior arrest in September 2017 on felony gun charges.
Police say they found him in possession of an illegal .357-caliber handgun during a traffic stop.
He was free on a $15,000 cash bond pending the resolution of that case.
The raid on his home developed after cops in Brooklyn’s 81st Precinct received a tip that Drabman might have illegal weapons.
Working with prosecutors in Queens, police obtained a search warrant and executed it with the cooperation of NYPD Special Operations and the department Intelligence Bureau.
Photos of the seized weapons show a wide array of rifles, including multiple AK-47s, and a drum-fed Tommy gun, both of which were originally designed as fully automatic but now are available in semi-auto versions.
Two AK-47s are seen on bipods in the foreground among the weapons seized in the raid
There were many semi-automatic rifles among the arsenal based on the AR-15 platform
There were also many guns based on the AR-15 platform, which violate New York state law if they both have a pistol grip and accept detachable magazines.
Among the handguns seized were a dizzying array of semi-auto pistols, revolvers, derringers, and even a homemade zip gun constructed from a length of pipe.
The 50,000 rounds of ammunition seized in the raid were an ‘unprecedented’ quantity for one person to have, NYPD Chief of Intelligence Thomas Galati said at a press conference.
The evidence photos also show numerous ‘high-capacity’ and drum magazines. New York law prohibits magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds.
New York City’s gun laws are among the most harsh and nuanced in the country, and require a license and purchase permit, as well as mandatory registration, for all hand guns and long guns.
Cops recovered 23 hand guns in the raid, including revolvers, pistols and derringers
A powerful Smith & Wesson Model 500 revolver is seen in the foreground among the guns
It’s unclear exactly what violation made it illegal for Drabman to possess any of the weapons, though many of them appear to be illegal for any New York resident to own.
Drabman was charged with 72 counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, as well as 30 counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, seven counts of first-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
He was also charged with one count each of unlawful possession of an ammunition feed device and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said.
Drabman was arraigned in Queens on Monday. Neither he nor his mother could be reached for comment on the case.